• Bullet = Lacassine LA

State and local officials gathered at the Lacassine syrup plant site in Jefferson Davis Parish in May to break ground for an ethanol plant designed to take local farm crops and convert them into motor fuel, said Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Bob Odom.

Among those on hand were members of the Louisiana Legislature, officials from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, the Louisiana Agricultural Finance Authority (LAFA), the Jeff Davis Office of Economic Development and the principals of Supercritical Recovery Systems/Lacassine LLC (SRS/Lacassine).

The groundbreaking ceremony was part of a formal legislative briefing designed to increase awareness of the merits and impact of the ethanol plant and a neighboring sugarcane syrup plant, and their implications for agricultural and economic development initiatives in southwest Louisiana.

The Lacassine Regional Industrial Center, near the town of Lacassine, along Interstate 10 outside of Lake Charles, will be the new home of a state-of-the-art bio-refinery that will convert cellulose - wood pulp, bagasse, wood chips - and sucrose - sugar - into ethanol. The ethanol plant will be constructed next to the sugarcane syrup plant currently under construction and set to open this fall. SRS/Lacassine is leasing 63 acres of land from LAFA but the ethanol plant is a private corporate venture unrelated to the state.

"The ethanol plant and the sugarcane syrup plant are economic development vehicles that will generate primary and secondary business opportunities for local retailers, and will create direct and indirect jobs without any public funding," Odom said. \par }{\plain Bob Ames, CEO Supercritical Recovery Systems Inc., said the syrup plant under construction made the site an ideal location for an ethanol plant.

"The current syrup facility that is under construction at Lacassine, which will process sugarcane into syrup, was a major contributing factor in the selection of Lacassine as the site of choice," Ames said. "The syrup plant designs and functions are strikingly similar to the front-end treatment portion of our ethanol plant. By incorporating the two, SRS/Lacassine is optimistic that we will be able to keep the syrup plant operating year-round.

"This maintains optimum employment for the new syrup plant. Additionally, our plant's manpower, supervision and overall employment will create 40-plus jobs for the local community, Ames said.

SRS/Lacassine is a Missouri corporation that is registered to do business in Louisiana. It is an affiliate of Supercritical Recovery Systems Inc., which is a Delaware corporation that has the rights to patented technology for ethanol conversion facilities.

Ames said the company has a licensing agreement for the patented Gravity Pressure Vessel (GPV), technology and proficiencies that have been established after extensive clinical lab investigations from Los Alamos, Alternative Resources Inc., and Southwest Labs.

"This is a significant day for Louisiana agriculture," Odom said. "We are expanding the markets available for Louisiana agricultura commodities which means increased opportunities for our farmers. This is a chance for our farm industry to build new relationships with people outside the traditional agriculture sector."

Ethanol is a clean-burning fuel additive created by converting agriculture crops into grain alcohol and is the primary gasoline component used in motor fuel throughout the Midwestern states. The Environmental Protection Agency is mandating that certain cities begin using ethanol in their gasoline to prevent pollution. About 20 states with severe pollution problems and traffic congestion, like California, have banned another fuel additive, MTBE, and are turning to ethanol.

"Ethanol is widely used throughout the world. It is important to the oil and gas industry. The need is there for an ethanol plant in Louisiana," Odom said. "It's critical because one-sixth of all gasoline consumed in the United States is produced along the I-10 corridor between Houston and New Orleans - right where this ethanol plant will be located. It's good for the environment, and new jobs and economic growth will be generated through its operation," Odom said.

The Lacassine Industrial Park is a joint effort between LAFA and local officials with the Jeff Davis Office of Economic Development. The site is comprised of 200 acres that boasts the recent installation of twin 6,000-foot railroad spurs, a cane loading facility, a scale house and a coring facility. The park also includes industrial infrastructure - power, fiber optics, industrial water, onsite water process retention and drainage - and easily exceeds all minimum land use criteria involving environmental, zoning, wetland and other regulatory requirements.

"Jeff Davis Parish economic development officials have been an integral part of this initiative and we are partnering with them as they work with other state officials, regional development allies and business prospects to continue development at the park," Odom said.

Ernie Broussard, executive director of the Jeff Davis Office of Economic Development, pointed out the value of working with a team of partners to attract new development.

"We would like to emphasize the important role the Department of Agriculture and Forestry and LAFA have played and their contribution to the economic development performance of this state and parish. The can-do attitude typified by Commissioner Odom and his entire staff is a testament to the commitment and spirit of American farmers," Broussard said. "The economic multipliers that are realized in this effort, in addition to the amount of collateral development that we believe will be spawned from this announcement, is at the heart of our economic development agenda."

"This ethanol refinery is the final phase of what has been referred to as the Louisiana Greenfuels Initiative," Odom said. "The initiative was designed to increase crop rotation for multiple farm commodities to be used as feedstock processed into consumable sugar byproducts and to create a year-round need for ethanol production."

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